The brothers settled into Cliffside as Snow and Grumpy went to the library and began to study. They brought armloads of scrolls and ancient books from the library and poured over the words and runes. Grumpy taught Snow more about magic as he learned more about curses. He was a patient and kind teacher, explaining and demonstrating and teaching in a way that Snow understood very well. They lost themselves in the study of magic, leaving the brothers to their own devices.

While the two of them studied, the brothers spent the majority of their time at Cliffside talking with a lot of Grumpy's old acquaintances. It was absolutely fascinating to find out so much about who he was before they'd known him. His kindness and generosity, even with just a few meager possessions, were lauded by every thief he'd grown up with. There wasn't a single one that hadn't been desperate to meet their quota and been saved at the last minute by Grumpy. He was well-loved by all of his generation except a few men who really hated Dwarfs, like Emil.

There was something that puzzled the brothers, though. How could Grumpy be unaware of how beloved he was? Not just that, he seemed completely oblivious to any of their friendliness, and he was constantly sniping at people. They didn't mind, but it was clear that something was wrong between Grumpy and the world.

"Must be the gold sickness," Sleepy said one day through a yawn.

"How?" Doc asked.

"Dunno," Sleepy replied. "But something's wrong. He's jumpier than I ever seen him."

It was true. They sometimes caught Grumpy staring into space, his expression blank of anything. Whenever they snapped him out of it, he'd jump and ask where they'd come from, as if he hadn't seen or heard them approach. The brothers were worried, and they finally shared their concerns with Bastian to see what he said.

"He always does that here," Bastian said. "I swear that bitch has something on him."

"Gold sickness," Sleepy yawned.

Bastian leaned forward and peered at the Dwarf. "What can you tell me about it?"

Sleepy sat up and considered the stories he knew, his tiredness vanishing. "Well, it started with dragons. It's how some get sick. Then somebody made gold sickness into a curse."

"But what does that mean?" Bastian asked.

Sleepy shrugged. "Dunno."

"We need to find out," Doc said, drumming his fingers on the table.

Everybody turned to look at him. It sounded like the magic was back.

"How?" Bastian asked, leaning in.

Doc took a bite of porridge, chewing slowly. "Sleepy needs to get to the library."

"Me?" Sleepy asked, his eyes going wide. "Why me?"

"You're the only one he'll take. You're the only one with a season, uh,reason to go," Doc said carefully.

"Reason? What reason?"

"Just ask if he'll take you today," Doc said.

"Here he comes," Bastian said.

Grumpy looked irritable as he shrugged out of a bag and sat down.

"No tuck, uh, luck?" Doc asked.

"It's a lot to go through," Grumpy muttered. He scrubbed his eyes. "Need to get more, but I wanted to eat first."

Doc met Sleepy's eyes and inclined his head. Sleepy hesitated.

"Uh… Can I ask you something?" Sleepy asked.

Grumpy glanced up and snickered. "Wondered when you'd ask. Snow's sleepin', so it'll just be us."

"Huh?"

Grumpy squinted at him. "You wanted to go to the library, right?"

"Well yeah, but… how'd you figure that?"

Grumpy shrugged. "They gots a history section."

Sleepy recalled him mentioning that, and he smiled a little. "So's you wouldn't mind?"

"Not a bit. Just let me eat something and we can go."

After a quick meal, Grumpy brought Sleepy into his room and cast the silver sheet in front of him. He paused then glanced at Sleepy.

"Wanna recite it again?"

Sleepy grinned and placed his hands behind his back as he began the poem again. Grumpy had gotten to the point where he could get to the doors in less than half a minute, but he kept pace with the rhyme for Sleepy's sake. When the doors appeared, Grumpy held out his hand. Sleepy took it, and they walked through the sheet. Sleepy was startled to find that they were in the courtyard of an ancient library.

The library was actually at the bottom of a black lake, and they could see flashes of light from creatures in the depths around the bubble that protected the grounds. There was a large garden that glowed with magic plants, many sectioned off and listed with instructions for use. The library itself was made of stone and towered above them. In front of them was a set of ornate doors that led inside. Sleepy gazed around in astonishment for a moment before Grumpy turned to him.

"There's a spell inside so that you can't speak. You can think your questions to me though."

Sleepy nodded and Grumpy led him inside. As soon as they passed through the doorway, Sleepy could tell he wouldn't be able to utter a single word. Grumpy led him to the center and gestured at the signs on the shelves. Sleepy nodded and Grumpy turned and began to unpack his bag. Sleepy scanned the signs then selected the history section and went in. He didn't know where to begin, and he rubbed his hands together as he scanned labels. Gold sickness. Gold sickness. When did it first become a curse? Sleepy went back three hundred years, and he began pulling out scrolls.

Scanning the parchment only made him want to slow down and take in the stories, but he didn't know how long Grumpy would take. He never popped in for too long at a time, preferring to discuss things as he studied, and Sleepy was anxious to please Doc, who seemed so sure that he was the best Dwarf for the job. But Doc was the one with the magic.

Sleepy paused then reached into his pocket and squeezed the sapphire that Grumpy had given him. 'How can I help Grumpy?' he thought, feeling silly. Nothing happened, and Sleepy sighed, knowing Doc was going to be disappointed. He was just a storykeeper, not an adventurer. Tugging out the sapphire, Sleepy peered at it. As the glowing golden torch behind him reflected in the rich blue surface, Sleepy was forcefully reminded of one story Grandpapa never told him. Mama wouldn't let him because it had scared her and she didn't want her sons to grow up with the same fear.

Sleepy stuck the gem in his pocket and walked down the aisle, scanning the labels. He stopped when he saw a symbol, the same one he remembered Grandpapa drawing as he began the story before Mama scolded him and stopped him. Sleepy leaned down and picked up the scroll. One peek at the first line confirmed it was what he wanted, and as he rolled it up, Grumpy touched his shoulder. When he met Grumpy's eyes, he could suddenly hear his friend's thoughts.

"Ready?"

"Can I take this?" Sleepy thought.

"Sure. I'll bring it back tomorrow. Try and finish it tonight."

Sleepy grinned and nodded. Within ten minutes, they were back at Cliffside. Grumpy left for Snow and Sleepy headed for his bed, wanting to be alone to read the story. Settling against the headboard, Sleepy unrolled the scroll and began to read. Once he was done, he read it again. And again. He lost track of time as he continued to imprint the story in his mind. It was only when his brothers returned to the room for rest that he set the scroll aside and sat up.

"There you are!" Sneezy exclaimed. "We was wonderin' where you got to."

Sleepy yawned and rubbed his tired eyes. "Been here readin'," he managed to say.

"Reading what?" Doc asked.

"A story."

"Do you drink, ah, think it's a useful story?"

Sleepy nodded. "I need to tell it."

"Tell away," Doc encouraged.

They went over to the fireplace and sat down around Sleepy, who stood in front of them silhouetted by the flames.

"There was once a girl, so pretty that any boy would fight for her hand. But she was cold and angry on the inside, so nobody touched her heart. One day a young man came with a rare and precious gift. As soon as she saw the sapphire bracelet, she wanted it, and she decided to do anythin' to get it. So she pretended to fall in love with him, and when he offered her marriage, she asked for the sapphire, and he gave it to her. But as soon as he slipped the bracelet on her wrist, she became his slave, and he told her that he finally had the fairest in the land, and she would be his forever.

"Outraged, the girl could say and do nothin' but obey as he took over her life and forced her to be his wife. But though she couldn't speak, she could plan, and at night, when he slept, she was freed just enough to do as she pleased. And so she studied black magic to get her revenge. In her readin', she found a curse that would give him a desire for something other than her, something far stronger. She learned the magic and waited for an opportunity to strike, and one day it happened. Her husband made the fatal mistake and asked if she had anything to say. She looked at him and smiled sweetly and spoke the curse over him.

"It went to work at once, and he snatched the sapphire bracelet off her wrist, calling out that the jewelry was his. Freed at last, the girl cast another spell at once, taking over the enchantment of the bracelet as the man put it on his wrist, and she spoke one last spell, linkin' the curse to herself so that she would be able to control him far more than he had controlled her. Forevermore the curse would link them in their hatred, and neither could rest until one of them was no more."

Sleepy stopped talking, and he stared solemnly at his brothers. "I think Calida's somehow linked to Grumpy through his curse. And he ain't never gonna be okay until we break it."

There was silence as they thought over the tale and it's implications. Bashful finally turned to Doc.

"What do we do?"

"I don't know," Doc said. "So for now we do nothing."

There was a flash of silver and a burst of green sparks and Grumpy came through. "Supper?" he asked, looking around.

They hurried over and he passed through enough food for all of them then stepped into his room and cut off his magic. He tossed aside his bag and rubbed at his eyes.

"Tired?" Doc asked sympathetically.

"Yep," Grumpy said. "But we're figurein' out the spell. Gots a few pieces put together."

"And your study on curses?" Sleepy asked.

"Ah, I ain't been thinkin' on that. Ain't much we can do as far as I can tell."

"What do you know?" Happy urged.

"Have to rip a curse out, but it'll kill me if we do it," Grumpy said sadly. "Been too long. Was probably cursed before I was born. Unless there's more to the curse than just me, I'm dead if we do it."

As Doc and the others comforted Grumpy. Sleepy's eyes lit up. If he was right, Calida was linked to Grumpy's curse. And one could survive according to the way the story was worded. Sleepy opened his mouth to speak, but then he paused. Grumpy looked so tired. Maybe he'd wait until tomorrow before he shared that with their dear friend. They couldn't do anything about it that night anyway.

The Dwarfs ate their fill of supper then got ready for bed. They didn't know whether it was day or night, but they liked to get up and go to bed at the same time. That way nobody was ever alone. As Grumpy crawled into his bed, Doc hesitated then quietly grabbed a dark lantern and set it by his bed. Then Grumpy waved his hand and put out the fire, leaving them in darkness. As he slipped asleep, Grumpy felt as if he was drifting away in a haze of confusion. Then there was a flash of gold and a deep sense of greed as his mind went blank.